Cross Curricular Projects & Units

Cross-curricular projects abound in the Middle School curriculum helping students construct knowledge, develop skills, and deepen understanding in a stimulating lesson interconnecting a wide range of subjects. For example, World Geography students use their Writing and history class to prepare for a mock-United Nations commission. As delegates from countries studied in history, students develop autobiographical stories based on their lives as delegates; written and visual presentations detailing a pressing issue facing their country, and possible solutions for U.N. consideration to solve the issue. The project includes public speaking, three-paragraph essays, significant academic research, as well as presentation art and technology.

Typically, the Middle School also engages in a major three-week cross-curricular unit, now also called the Middle School J-Term which begins after winter break. The 2013 J-Term unit was about change. You can read more about it and see photos and videos by clicking here.

In 2012, Middle Schoolers delved into a month-long exploration of space in A Cougar’s Guide to the Galaxy, which you can read about in our May 2012 newsletter.

And previously, in a “Rivers and Bridges” unit 6th and 7th graders learned about various types of rivers and bridges, and analyzed their importance to society. In history, students researched and studied the impact of rivers and bridges on American history. In science, they learned about the ecological impact of rivers and bridges. Writing provided time to develop metaphors and write stories about rivers and bridges, while in English, students analyzed how rivers and bridges connect or separate people and communities in different literary selections. In a collaborative effort, math and science classes built an actual small-scale fully-functioning model bridge and river scene.